Blood Vendetta
by Sweetsong
Summary: REWRITTEN VERSION! In a modern world plagued by vampires, ANBU is a secret organization sworn to annihilate all bloodsuckers. But trouble is stirring as the vampires prepare for a revolt against those who've suppressed them for years. [NaruSasu KakaIta]


THIS IS THE REWRITTEN VERSION! I had my seventeenth birthday just a few weeks ago, and I realized that this fic and Exploding Stars are at least 2 years old!! So sorry to all my readers for the long wait. I'm not dead and my fics aren't dead yet either.

Anyway, I rewrote this story, because I just wasn't happy with the original one. But a lot of this chapter is taken directly from the original fic. Most of the changes come in later. Enjoy!

**Pairings:** NaruSasu, KakaIta

**Blood Vendetta**

**Chapter 1 Midnight Escapade**

His blood pumped fiercely in his veins, his thigh muscles were beginning to ache with every elongated step, and his gloved fingers were itching to whip out his UV gun from its holster. He was breathing heavily and could hear his heartbeat palpitating in his chest. Under his mask, a tiny bead of sweat from his forehead trickled into his eye, stinging it, and he blinked. He felt hot underneath his black ANBU cloak despite the cool, crisp night wind whipping against him.

It was moments like these that he lived for—when the overwhelming sensation of a natural adrenaline high consumed every inch of his body and the only thing he could do was chase after his prey like a ravenous, bloodthirsty beast. Like a true predator, the chase was always his favourite part; it was no fun if the prey was caught too easily.

It was nigh midnight, and the only source of light was the full white moon looming enigmatically over the slumbering shadows of the city. With the moonlight illuminating his path, he bounded effortlessly over the gap between rooftops, landing nimbly without a misstep. His inhumanly sharp eyes were focused on his fleeing target who chanced a frantic, wide-eyed glance back at his pursuer. His target stumbled in mid-step, betraying the grace and agility vampires were reputed of possessing. The distance between them was rapidly shortening; he was so close he could almost smell the lingering traces of human blood on the bloodsucker and feel the powerful impact of his fist colliding with the bloodsucker's jaw.

His earpiece suddenly flared into life with at first static and then his teammate's voice. "Naruto? Are you there? Do you read me?"

"Yeah, I'm here, Neji. What's up?"

"Do you require backup?"

"Me? Nah, I'm fine."

"Me and Neji are all done with our rounds," another teammate of his, Kiba, chimed in. "How're you doing with yours, buddy? Can't handle your bloodsucker?" he teased.

"He gives a good chase," Naruto replied with a smirk, "but that only makes him an even nicer catch."

Kiba laughed. "Guess we'll meet up with you at our usual rendezvous point then."

"Don't miss me too much, Kib. Over and out."

His target was a freshly-turned, twenty-something leech guilty of three deaths in the past week. He hadn't bothered disposing of the bodies he'd drained dry—a very amateur gesture indeed for it allowed ANBU to easily examine the bite wounds and determine the identity of the vampire through dental records—and leaving them instead for the public to feast their horror on.

It had been a curious scene to the local police: three corpses, all reported to be female prostitutes, with matching injuries—two distinctive pinpricks on the neck—abandoned in shady alleyways. It was painfully obvious this bloodsucker was green and inexperienced, having no mentor to tutor him in the ways of the vampiric world. It had caused quite the stir in the public news, and ANBU (Annihilation of Nightly Beasts Union) Headquarters had a lot of trouble silencing the particularly suspicious cops and townsfolk. The people of Konoha were used to strange occurrences in their city, and there was even an unspoken law not to question especially queer incidents, but never had the community been treated to such an appalling story.

Of course, should a citizen choose to carefully research all the abnormal happenings in Konoha, they would find a countless number of similar cases. ANBU was exceptionally well versed at covering up tricky situations from the mainstream public. Also, it would not do for the secret organization to have nosy people prying and crawling underfoot if they were to carry out their duties effectively.

Naruto's quarry was panicking now, peeking back at every turn. Blood from his mouth dripped onto the ground, marking a sure trail in his wake. There was an apparent fear in his eyes which Naruto detected and fed on.

He was aware he appeared menacing—a persistent figure swathed in black with an intricate mask carved in the design of the nine-tailed demon fox from mythology. He had personally ensured that all the vampires residing in the shadows of Konoha were aware of his notorious reputation as the infamous Kyuubi. He didn't show mercy, and all those on his hit list were exterminated quickly and efficiently.

The vampire made a sudden turn and fled into a network of dark, shabby alleyways in the more sordid part of town, Naruto following close behind.

The darkness of the alley swallowed Naruto when he entered, but his sharp eyes were adapted to night vision. Easily, he picked out a slight movement in the shadows out of his peripheral vision and spun around swiftly in that direction.

But he was a step too late. The vampire stepped in tune behind him, and a strong arm wound snugly around his throat, successfully cutting off his oxygen supply. His hand shot up to grip the tightening arm and he could hear the smug smirk in the bloodsucker's voice as he spoke.

"Not so tough now, eh, Kyuubi? Tsk, tsk, tsk, you're not as good as they make you out to be." The vampire sneered next to his ear, nimbly hopping onto Naruto's back and locking his legs around his waist.

"It was my choice, you know, to become this. I didn't just get bitten randomly by a vampire. But I suppose you wouldn't understand the significance, the superiority…" A long, sharp fang pressed against the outer rim of Naruto's ear.

Snarling curses and struggling for breath, he tried to dislodge the vampire on his back, but his attempts were futile. The leech clung on relentlessly as Naruto thrashed wildly around. Finally, choking and rapidly losing air, he did the only thing he could think of: slam the vampire on his back repeatedly into the brick wall behind.

It worked. The vampire's hold slackened ever so slightly on the third try, opening an opportunity Naruto madly seized. He kicked up high above his head, the steel point of his leather boot meeting the demon's forehead. That did the trick. The back of the vampire's head struck the brick wall with a satisfying crack and he crumpled. Then, just for good measure, the ANBU whirled around and brought a booted heel hurling into the bloodsucker's temple in a flawless execution of a roundhouse kick.

The undead collapsed against the brick wall of the dark alley, knocked unconscious. Naruto, panting, tore off his mask to scrutinize the target, the adrenaline still racing furiously through his veins. The skirmish had ended quickly much to his disappointment though the long chase had more was more than enough compensation. His recent patrols had been somewhat unyielding, and he'd been looking forward to some action.

The vampire was young, only several years his elder by estimation, with long, silvery hair and a pale, pointed face. The clothes he wore were dirty and scruffy and looked to be a few days old—Naruto guessed that he had been on the run from ANBU ever since he was turned. His name was Mizuki something-or-other. Naruto didn't even need to check his fangs for confirmation; he had glanced at Mizuki's profile earlier that day and recognized the facial features and hair. It was purely by chance that he came across Mizuki tonight on his rounds.

ANBU was extremely organized and kept an extensive catalogue containing profiles of all the known vampires in Konoha. Of course, not _every_ vampire out there was recorded—the birth, elimination, and turning of the creatures were nigh impossible to keep track of—therefore, posing quite the problem for ANBU to terminate the unknown ones. And even with all their valuable information, ANBU was still incapable of estimating the exact number of the vampiric population residing in Konoha.

His earpiece once again emitted static before Neji's voice pierced the crisp, silent night.

"Naruto? Do you copy?"

"Yeah, I hear you."

"Are you still after him? Finish him off quickly and report back to base. Kiba and I are heading back to Central now."

"Gotcha," Naruto replied and the line disconnected.

"Guess I'll have to get this over with then." He smirked and pulled out the UV gun. Stepping back, he aimed for the centre of Mizuki's forehead and pulled the trigger. The bullet lodged itself into the vampire's head before unleashing the true effect of the intense ultraviolet radiation. A second later, the demon detonated in a miniature explosion, and the only trace of his existence left was the pile of dust where he had previously been.

The ANBU stared at his gun in awe. The UV gun never failed to amaze him. He had always relied on the traditional vampire-hunting gear and equipment, but this was damn solid proof of the advancement of ANBU technology.

He placed the gun back into its holster, put on his mask, and, whistling, made his way back to Central to report the night's events. After that, he couldn't wait to enjoy a long, hot shower, and return to his apartment to demolish a big, steaming bowl of ramen.

It was only ten past midnight when Uzumaki Naruto, flanked by his two teammates, scanned his fingerprints into the machine for access and entered Central. They had arrived back just as a fresh team of ANBU were dispatched for the second patrol shift of the night.

The ANBU Headquarters were located on the outskirts of the city in a large, old mansion belonging to the original founder of the organization. Of course, the mansion was only a small fraction of the entire ANBU force; the rest were underground and could only be accessed via the mansion. To the citizens of Konoha, the mansion was beheld as a relic since the birth of the town and currently belonged to a wealthy, foreign lady who purchased it from the previous owner.

The double doors leading to the ANBU lounge swung open, admitting the tall blonde with a tanned, muscular arm over his shoulder holding onto his black cloak. His other hand clutched onto his mask. Cheerily, he announced to the occupants of the room, "We're back!" and was greeted by several grunts of acknowledgements. He unceremoniously threw his black cloak and Kyuubi mask onto the back of a conveniently placed couch.

In front of the large, LCD screen TV sat his friends, Shikamaru and Chouji, who were currently off duty. They were watching the news before the trio joined them.

"So how were the rounds tonight?" Chouji asked.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Neji replied, neatly folding his cloak and setting his ANBU mask on the folded cloth.

"Speaking of which, where the hell were you, Naruto? Neji and I were finished way before you. We waited God-knows-how-long for you, you know?" Kiba smirked, baiting Naruto on purpose. He carelessly tossed his ANBU attire on the couch along with Naruto's.

Naruto, as expected, whirled around and glared at his best friend. "I had three, okay? And the last one wasn't the easiest," pouted the blonde.

"Only three, man? You're losing your touch," Kiba teased, swinging an arm around Naruto's shoulders. Like all best friends, teasing each other was always one of their favourite hobbies. "Neji here had four. And I took down six."

It was an outright lie and Naruto knew it. To have six bloodsuckers in one night, an ANBU had to either be _uncannily_ lucky or to have stumbled across a gang of vampires, which was rare in itself. The average per shift was two or three. "In your dreams, dog breath. Six leeches in one go?"

Kiba laughed. "Damn right. I got lucky. And, Nej," he turned his attention to the third member of their team, "nice work tonight. Thanks for watching my back back there."

"It was no problem," Neji answered absently.

"So he gets a 'nice work' and I don't?"

"Well, he did take down four leeches in record time. While you…" Kiba trailed off, laughing. The blonde playfully punched his friend's shoulder.

"I had to chase the last one halfway across town before I can have some fun, alright? It was that Mizuki bloodsucker."

Naruto didn't miss the swift exchange in glances between Neji and Shikamaru. "You got him?" Shikamaru, the ANBU strategist and tactician, drawled. "I heard from one of the recruitment staff that he tried out for the ANBU entrance exams couple months back. He passed, but wasn't accepted. It seemed the exam heads suspected him of cheating. Don't know what happened to him after that."

"Obviously, he joined the other team," spoke up Chouji.

Naruto grimaced. "He told me right before I finished him that he _chose_ to become a leech." The thought so disturbed him that he couldn't prevent the shiver running down his spine. "I don't understand how anyone could _willingly_ become a bloodsucker, having to kill someone everyday just to exist."

"There are selfish humans out there who are seduced by the immortality promised by the vampiric race. Taking the lives of others for the sole preservation of one's own does not disturb their morality," Neji explained logically. "Everlasting life has its prices… if only one's willing to pay them."

"Okay, enough with all this depressing talk," Kiba interrupted, "if you all will excuse me, I'm going to take a shower and head to the infirmary for a check up."

"Why a check up? Did you get hurt by the six bloodsuckers you single-handedly put down? Or is it to meet someone there?" It was Naruto's chance to turn the tables on Kiba. He knew very well Kiba made it a point of visiting the infirmary after every shift just so he could flirt with Neji's cousin, Hinata, who worked as a nurse in the medical centre. (Neji, of course, knew nothing of his teammate's interest in his shy, soft-spoken cousin, and Kiba planned to keep it that way.)

Kiba's answer was to stick out his tongue before he left in the direction of the ANBU locker room.

"Yes, I should go to the infirmary too. Hinata always worries if I don't show up for a check up. Good night," Neji excused himself and left as well.

"And that leaves me… I think I'll head home and hit the sack. The report can wait until tomorrow. Night, you two," Naruto stifled a yawn. He knew he should check in at the ANBU clinic as well or he'll hear from Sakura, the head nurse of ANBU's medical centre and his ex-girlfriend, in the morning, but he was too tired to care. He hasn't had a nice, uninterrupted nine-hour sleep in a long while, and he was actually looking forward to spending the night in his apartment rather than the ANBU quarters. He didn't have to report back to Central until tomorrow night, and it would be nice to pass the day wandering around the city and reacquainting himself with the reasons why he loved it so.

He decided to take the bus instead of the subway home. There was always the option of running home via the rooftops and getting a good workout (It was actually a faster route than the bus.), but the moon was bright tonight, and without his black ANBU cloak as camouflage, he'd cause quite a stir among the public. It's not exactly common to see someone hopping from rooftop to rooftop in a hurry to get home at night.

He didn't own a car. None of the ANBU did. It was too troublesome to remain "anonymous" when there were public records kept of you. Even the personal homes ANBU lived in were owned by the organization. ANBU also owned various vehicles for personal use. He'd found himself borrowing a motorcycle more often than a few times.

The bus was empty. Naruto decided to stand; his apartment complex was only several stops away.

It was only a few minutes after Naruto got on that the most beautiful person Naruto had ever seen boarded the bus. The blonde couldn't tear his eyes away and he had to clamp his mouth shut to prevent drooling.

The gorgeous stranger had flawless porcelain skin and silky black hair that spiked up in the back. He was dressed all in black, which only contrasted with his white complexion and added an air of seductive mystery. He looked up just then at Naruto, and the blonde instantly lost his breath. The stranger's eyes were shining black pools even darker than his hair. His face was alluring and divine; he was almost too beautiful and exquisite to be real.

Naruto was sure his heart skipped several beats and he made sure to discreetly pinch himself to make sure this wasn't some sort of hallucination. The stranger too chose to stand despite the rows of vacant seats on the bus. Naruto suddenly wanted to inch closer and closer to the raven-haired beauty, but that would be too obvious. He could already tell the beauty was uncomfortable from his staring. He couldn't help it though—the stranger was just so lovely it'd _hurt_ not to look at him.

All too soon, the beauty's stop arrived, and he gracefully climbed off the bus much to Naruto's disappointment. The remainder of the way home, Naruto kicked himself hard for not making his move when he had a chance. Meeting beauties like him were an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He knew he would probably never meet someone as striking as that stranger again in his life, but it didn't prevent him from hoping.

Unbeknownst to him, that wish would come true sooner than he had hoped.

_To Be Continued_


End file.
